Stage 17 at the Tour de France - Movistar warm up ahead of a short 65km mountain stage (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Telefonica have announced a contract extension with Team Movistar for an additional three years, bringing their relationship with the Spanish WorldTour team through to at least the end of the 2021 road reason. The sponsorship will also include an extension to the UCI Women's Team for the same period.

Movistar took over from Caisse d'Epargne at the start of the 2011 season, providing the team of world champion Alejandro Valverde with greater stability. Eusebio Unzué, who has run the team under different guises for 40 years, welcomed the positive news in a press release issued on Sunday.

"Telefónica's support was key to obtaining those results, especially considering that their backing started in a particularly difficult moment for our sport. Our commitment is to continue to live up to the values of these big brands, and represent their employees and clients across the world."

The team boast three potential Grand Tour leaders in Nairo Quintana, Mikel Landa and Alejandro Valverde. This year the team missed out a podium at the Tour de France, although Nairo Quintana saved their blushes with a stage win and the team posted two riders inside the top ten on the general classification. The team's 2019 ambitions have yet to be announced but they are set to be revealed at the team's presentation next week in Madrid.

"Their individual triumphs are a consequence of their ambition and the whole team's great work, a value which Telefónica identifies itself profoundly with," said Telefónica's global partnerships manager Rafael Fernández de Alarcón in today's press release.

"We also want to thank the team's closure with their audience, the millions of fans who get to the roads around the world to cheer them on, or follow them through television and social media."

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